


Tres Reyes Panaderia

by IlanaNight



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Bakery, M/M, Single Parents, Veterans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-08-08
Packaged: 2019-06-23 15:09:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15608991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IlanaNight/pseuds/IlanaNight
Summary: Moving has been a bit of a stressful situation for Jack, but at least he found a bakery downtown willing to make Lena's cake on horribly short notice. And now, the beautiful man in charge just seems to be popping up everywhere- maybe things are looking up after all.





	Tres Reyes Panaderia

**Author's Note:**

> This piece was written as part of the Reaper76 Big Bang! The artists who drew scenes to accompany my work can be found at rag--tag.tumblr.com and rottingdonuts.tumblr.com. Their pieces will be linked at the end so as to avoid spoilers!

It was a pretty busy street- most streets were at this time of day. Students getting out of class, morning shifts letting off for work. People out to get coffee, or do some last minute shopping before dinner. All sorts of city hustle and bustle- the kind of excitement it was easy to get lost in, the kind that felt safe.

 

And on the busy street, home to a great many shops, was  _ Tres Reyes Panaderia _ , a bakery with as much life and buzzing as the street it lived on. There was rarely a moment when the bell over the door wasn’t ringing with in and out traffic as pastries were snatched off the shelves almost as fast as they could be put out.

 

Pulling the trays out of the oven, Gabe set them out on shelves of the rack to cool, looking over the breads and pulling out any that were slightly burnt or misshapen. He’d set them out discounted or give them away, they weren’t suitable to be sold on the floor.

 

He was in the process of shaping cochinitos and setting them on a new baking sheet when a voice called back from the main room of the shop.

 

“Hey, Dad. There’s a man here who wants to order a cake, and I don’t feel like doin’ all the paperwork involved.”

 

Gabe let out a laugh, rolling his eyes and cleaning his hands on a towel as he stepped out of the kitchen, tying his apron back around his waist. He hipchecked Jesse out of his way, nudging him into the back room.

 

“Culo flojo. Go finish making the cochinitos then, and put them in the oven. I’ll help you set up the afternoon trays once I’m done.”

 

Jesse grumbled, but eventually made his way into the back, and Gabe could hear when he started whistling- a habit he’d picked up when working a few years back.

 

Turning back to the man at the counter, Gabe flashed an apologetic smile, holding out a hand, “Sorry about that. Jesse’s a bit of a handful sometimes. Teenagers, y’know? But I hear you’re here to order a cake?”

 

The man opposite the counter grinned in return, bright and warm, and shook his hand with a firm grip, “Nothing to apologize for. I’ve got a daughter not much younger than him- I know how it gets. Except she just always wants to go for a run instead of doing her chores.”

 

Gabe laughed, looking over his shoulder at where Jesse had disappeared into the kitchen, “You hear that, kid? I could make you run laps if you don’t feel like doing dishes tonight.”

 

The only response was a towel, thrown through the open door that landed by his feet. Laughing again, he picked it up and tossed it back, accompanied by laughter from the man behind him.

 

“Anyway. Where are my manners. The name’s Gabe- I run the place, no matter what my son says. What can I do for you?”

 

Another smile from the blond man as he leant up against the front counter, turning the example book around so Gabe could see, “Jack. And I was wondering if there was any way you could make this cake, but with yellow and orange flowers? Instead of the purple that are shown? If not, the purple is fine, it’s just, Lena really-”

 

“Yeah, of course,” Gabe cut the man off, sensing that he was about to devolve into an apology of some sort, or an anxious monologue, “I can do the flowers any color- the purple is just from the one I took pictures of for an example. It was for my daughter- she’s really fond of purple.”

 

“Oh. Oh! Great, thanks,” He ran a hand through his hair, laughing nervously and leaning back from the counter.

 

“No problem, boss. Lemme grab you a form really fast,” Gabe walked over to the shelf behind the counter, pulling out a binder and grabbing a form. He filled out the top portion quickly before sliding it over to Jack, “When were you hoping to have the cake by? We usually like at least a week in advance, but I could do it in a few days if its a rush order.”

 

Jack went straight to work on the form, checking boxes and filling out the info lines before looking up and biting his lip, nervous again. “I was uh. Hoping to have it by Saturday, actually? I know it’s the day after tomorrow and that’s really short notice but. Some things came up and we had to move earlier than we intended and. Yeah.”

 

Humming, Gabe flipped through the binder and checked dates- it wasn’t exactly the most popular season for cakes at least, no big holidays to be prepping for. And while it would probably mean staying late and coming in early, he could fudge it in, probably.

 

“I could do that. It’s gonna be a little extra- rush costs and what not. But I should have enough time to get the cake made.”

 

The look of relief across Jack’s face was enough to cover the time Gabe would be putting in- the man looked as if Gabe had just given him the only ladder up onto a ship in the middle of the ocean.

 

Finishing up the paperwork as fast as he could, Jack turned it back to Gabe, “Thank you so much, oh, I could kiss you right now. Thank you. I’ll pay the rush fees, no worries about that. I just. I want her to have a good birthday.”

 

Jack’s statement had Gabe laughing brightly, taking the sheet and putting it on the top of his to-do pile for the next day, “No need to kiss me, Jack. Just be sure to throw a good party- teens are hard, you said it yourself.”

 

“Oh. Right. Of course. I was. Just. You know. It’s a saying. Didn’t. Mean anything by it. Or anything. Uh. I should. I’ll. I’ll see you Saturday?” Jack’s face was bright red, and he kept hiding it behind his hand, fingers running through his hair, clearly embarrassed.

 

Waving off the concern, Gabe flashed another smile, trying to help the moment pass and ignore the weird almost-guilt in his stomach. He hadn’t meant to fluster the other man so much- but some people just weren’t used to jokes like that, he supposed.

“No worries. I appreciate the sentiment, Jack. See you Saturday- with your yellow and orange cake.”

 

“Cool. Great. Thanks. A million times, seriously. Thanks,” He repeated it a couple more times on the way out, waving and then ducking out of the shop with an awkward smile.

 

Leaning against the counter, Gabe buried his head in a hand and laughed, incredulous at the entire exchange. It was certainly more exciting than he’d expected anything to be this morning. Especially considering how frantic Jack had seemed about getting the cake done.

 

“So uh. What the fuck was that?” Jesse’s voice startled him from behind, and Gabe moved out of the way to let him wheel the cart of fresh baking trays out to the front.

 

Gabe put on a pair of gloves and shrugged, helping Jesse set the new breads out and arrange them so the morning batches sold first but the new breads still had space in their compartments, “He needed to rush order a cake. I said I could do it, but it would cost him a bit. That’s all.”

 

“I  _ meant  _ the weird awkward flirtin’. Have you  _ ever  _ talked to another human being, dad?”

 

With a roll of his eyes, Gabe scoffed and lightly smacked Jesse by the back of the head, shaking his head, “I wasn’t flirting. Just trying to make a joke is all. And besides- he definitely didn’t take it well. Looked like I’d grown a second head.”

 

“Damn. Too bad. He was pretty.  Looked yer type. S’why I let you take his order.”

 

“Oh, yeah, sure. Definitely wasn’t because you didn’t want to have to in put the order in the calendar. Paperwork certainly  _ isn’t  _ your least favorite part of this job.”

 

Now it was Jesse’s turn to laugh, elbowing Gabe in the stomach, “Nah, that’d be having to deal with you all afternoon.”

 

“I love you too, mijo.”

 

“Love ya, pa.”

 

Still chuckling under their breaths, Jesse and Gabe set about putting all the breads on their respective shelves, stopping to help a customer whenever one wandered in, or to go and check on the breads still baking in the back.

 

A rush ordered cake wouldn’t be so bad- less time for the kids to tease him for ‘flirting’, after all. And a little extra money to help cover the month’s expenses. No, that wouldn’t be bad at all.

  
  


The house was silent when Jack opened the door- Lena was probably still at track practice, or hanging around with her new friends. That was one thing he was glad about- Lena never had any trouble making friends. Every time they moved she settled in easily.

 

But of course, that also meant every time they left, she had new friends to leave behind. And he knew that was really bothering her, even if she never said anything about it.

 

Sighing, Jack set a pot of coffee on to boil, picking up the newspaper and settling at the head of the kitchen table- he never had time to read it in the mornings, but he liked to at least try and keep up with the local news. Without the potentially upsetting sights and sounds associated with news on TV- he wasn’t always in a stable enough place to handle footage of explosions these days.

 

There wasn’t too much going on- fundraising efforts for a new library would be on the ballot, and something about a new shopping center being delayed due to money embezzlement. But it was enough to occupy his attention for a while until he heard a key clicking into the lock.

 

“Dad? You here? I’m home!” Lena’s voice was an excitable singsong, followed by the thud of a bag on the floor- she had been at track practice, then.

 

Getting up from the table, Jack closed the paper and set it aside before placing the coffee mug in the sink to wash later, “Yeah, kiddo. I’m in the kitchen. Beat you home by about half an hour or so.”

 

“Darn, and here I was sure I’d get home in time to spook ya!” A laugh was all his warning before she ran in, giving him a quick hug, “How was work? They get you all set up in your new office yet? Did you meet anyone nice? Any problems?”

 

Jack laughed too, ruffling her short hair as she pulled away from the hug, going about grabbing herself a glass of juice, “One question at a time, Lena. I’m too old- I don’t think as fast as you do these days.”

 

The only response he got was a stuck out tongue and a roll of Lena’s eyes as she sat down at the table, waiting for him to answer all the same.

 

“Work was fine. I have my office all organized now, yeah. Had to go through and realphabetize some of my files and books that got mixed up in the move. But everything’s in order now, I can find everything with my eyes closed.” A breath, trying to gather his thoughts as he shrugged and waved a hand, “No problems, no. And everyone seems friendly enough- I haven’t really had the time to get to know anyone yet. But I’m sure that’ll change.”

 

Lena’s smile brightened as Jack spoke, and he realised she’d been worrying about him, even if she tried not to show it. The kid really was too nice and caring for her own good. Walking around the table, he ruffled her hair again, patting her shoulder.

 

“Now, enough about my boring day at work. Tell me about school, how was practice? Classes going alright?”

 

“Dad! You just said one question at a time!” Both of them laughed at that, giving Jack the pause to sit next to her, listening intently as she told him about her day of classes. It was refreshing, hearing about how excited Lena was, even about the classes she worried she might struggle with. The world would be a better place if everyone had half her optimism.

 

Story finished, she paused for a split second before jumping out of her chair with a little yell.

 

“Oh! I forgot to put my track stuff in the wash. I’m gonna go do that- do you want help with dinner when I’m done, Dad?”

 

Jack waved her off, shooing her out of the kitchen, “No, no. You had a long day at school. I’ve got dinner covered, sweetie. Maybe if you want we can make dessert together afterwards.”

 

That got her starting out with a skip in her step, running back to the entryway, “You bet! Just lemme know when food’s ready- I’m gonna go get a headstart on my homework. And if you need help, yell for me, ‘kay?”

 

“Will do, kiddo. Good luck on your homework.”

 

Lena flashed him a quick pair of finger guns before racing out, a flurry of sound in the laundry room before she leapt up the stairs to her room, leaving Jack leaning against the doorjamb of the kitchen door with a smile.

 

Things were gonna work out alright.

 

Saturday came faster than Gabe expected it too, perhaps because he spent a lot more time in the shop than usual. Baking a cake required extra hours in the shop past closing, because he couldn’t devote time that was used to bake the usual pastries to the cake, and he didn’t want to be ignoring customers while he worked. 

 

Jesse had offered to miss a day of his classes down at the community college to help him, but Gabe had waved him off immediately- his education meant much more than the couple hours of free time Gabe would lose to get the cake order made in time. And he didn’t dislike the work- it was calming, almost, getting to practice his craft for something custom.

 

The only real complaint in the house came from Sombra, who insisted that Jesse’s cooking wasn’t nearly as good as his, and having dinner cooked by Jesse instead would starve her eventually. The ensuing argument had Gabe laughing for near half an hour- after he’d broken them up, of course.

 

Sombra and Jesse were great kids, they just liked trouble a little too much for their own good sometimes.

 

They were both helping him out in the bakery today- Jesse almost always dropped in on the weekends if he didn’t have too much homework, but Sombra was likely just here to see the man Jesse had been teasing him about for the past two days. She liked the bakery, it just wasn’t her kind of place, unless she got to eat the leftovers while sitting behind the counter checking all the books.

 

No matter the reasoning, he was glad to have the extra hands and faces up front while he finished the final details on decorating the cake- doing the flowers and the writing too early would cause the frosting to harden up, so he had to save it for this morning. 

 

The last rose was carefully shaped and colored on the cake, framing the text, and Gabe sat back on his stool with a little huff of breath, running a floured hand through his hair and leaving streaks of white in the dark brown curls. Smiling down at his handiwork, he grabbed the plastic box covering, carefully settling the wrapped cake on its own shelf of a cooling rack to wait for Jack to pick it up.

 

Dragging a cart of pastries to fill empty shelves with him, Gabe came out of the kitchen into the front of the shop, smiling and saying hello to the handful of customers.

 

“Señor Reyes, Señor Reyes! Do you have any more cuernitos? The box is empty…” A little boy ran up to him, looking up excitedly at the racks, many of which were too high for him to see onto.

 

Gabe smiled, stepping back to look and making a show of searching for them, as if he couldn’t find them. The boy watched, pouting, until Gabe caught sight of them, “Aha! Seems I have a couple after all.  ¿ Cuantos quiere?”

 

“All of them! I want them all!,” The boy reached up excitedly, before being pulled back by a hand on his shoulder, a little laugh echoing in the shop.

 

The young woman holding his shoulder smiled over at Gabe before ruffling the boy’s hair, placating, “How about we start with one, Juanito? And if you’re good while Mam á shops, we can come back after for another?”

 

Pouting, Juanito rocked back on his heels and huffed, “But what if he has no more?”

 

Gabe crouched down, looking at Juanito until the young boy made eye contact with him. He flashed a smile, holding out one of the cuernitos, “Tell ya what. I’ll keep one saved for you- our little secret. Just be good for your Mama and you can come back for it.”

 

He took the pastry with a look of glee, skipping away towards the counter, “Secret! I won’t tell anyone, promise!”

 

“You don’t have to do that, Gabriel. I wouldn’t want to risk losing you a sale.”

 

Gabe paused in refilling his shelves to wave off her concern with a grin, “It’s no problem, Lupe. Don’t mention it.”

 

She returned his smile with a grateful one of her own, waving goodbye as Juanito yelled from the counter that they had to pay for their pastries.

 

Not long after they left, the bell over the door chimed again and Gabe heard Jesse’s distinctive little whistle from the front of the shop.

 

“Hey, Pa, the cake man’s here. I got the shelves, you deal with the forms.”

 

Laughing, Gabe brushed his hands on his apron and wandered back over to the counter with a grin. He nudged Jesse away from the counter with a roll of his eyes, “Yeah, yeah. Journalism student who can’t stomach paperwork. Just you wait, mijo.”

 

“That’s future Jesse’s problem, not mine.”

 

Shooing Jesse away from the counter again, Gabe turned to look at Jack with a smile, “Hey- sorry. I’m sure it’s annoying to have to wait for me to switch places with Jesse every time you come in.”

 

“Oh, no! Not at all. I understand him not liking paperwork. I do a lot of it- it’s no fun,” Jack let out a little laugh, smiling down at Gabe from across the counter, “If anything, I’m sorry that he always has to interrupt your work when I come in.”

 

“Nah, this is my shop. Everything is my work- he and Sombra just come in to help when they’ve got a bit of time,” He gestured toward the back, where Sombra was still balancing all of the checkbooks, digital and physical. “Gimme a sec, your cake is on a cooling rack in the back room.”

 

He stepped away from the counter into the little back room, waving to Sombra who barely looked up from the computer to acknowledge him. Once he grabbed the cake, though, she took interest, turning in her chair.

 

“Is the pretty boy here? You really should install security cameras so I can see him. Or, you know, for security.”

 

_ “Jack  _ is here to pick up his cake, yes. And no, I’m not installing cameras  _ inside  _ the shop for no reason. If someone steals a pastry every now and then, I assume it’s because they have to.”

 

Sombra rolled her eyes and huffed at him, turning back to her computer as he left, right back to ignoring him.

 

Gabe set the cake on the counter, turning it around so Jack could read it and take in the details, “I hope it’s what you were looking for?”

 

He watched Jack’s face, worrying that it would fall. But all that happened was a bright grin, teeth flashed and eyes sparkling as he looked over the cake.

 

“It’s perfect! She’s gonna love it. Thank you so much, Mr. Reyes. Your roses are beautiful.”

 

“Hey, no need to call me Mr. Reyes. Just Gabe works- I’m not all about that formal stuff here,” Gabe laughed, glad that everything was up to par, “Lemme just grab your pick up forms so you can sign off on them. And the cake will be $65 with the added rush cost.”

 

He walked over to the binder, pulling Jack’s forms out and handing them to him while he punched in transaction details into the cash register. By the time he finished, Jack had the money held out on top of the forms.

 

“Thanks again- a thousand times over. And uh. Gabe? Keep the change. The cake’s beautiful,” He looked like he wanted to say something else, but then his phone went off. Checking it, the color drained from his face, “Oh god I’m gonna be late for my daughter’s own party, the meet let out early. I gotta go! Thank you!”

 

Picking up the cake, Jack made a mad dash for the door, rushing out like the hounds of hell were after him. Gabe watched after him for a moment, worried he’d trip and fall outside the shop and drop the cake, but he seemed to be fine hurrying down the block.

 

He picked up the paperwork, checking all the boxes and signatures and filing them into the binder for Sombra’s next book check before picking up the money. Jack had left him $80, just four twenties folded up on the counter.

 

Whistling, Gabe placed the money in the till, making note on his clipboard that the register would be over in case Jesse or Sombra counted out at the end of the day. It was a real nice tip, especially considering the cake was already more expensive than it normally would have been due to the rush.

 

“Did ya really scare him off so bad he had to run, Pa?”

 

“Shut up, kid. He’s got a birthday party to set up. Nothing to do with me being scary.” Gabe’s comment had no bite to it, a smile on his face. “You good taking back over the register? I should get to work on the next round of pastries.”

 

“Yeah, yeah. I got it. But if he comes back, it’s all on you.”

 

“Of course- no paperwork for you.”

 

Jesse clicked his tongue and finger-gunned at Gabe, tipping his hat with the other hand, “You got it, Boss.”

 

Heading back into the other room, Gabe said his hellos to Sombra again before settling in to making the dough and rolling it out, different types of bread on different baking sheets to rise and bake and cool for the afternoon rush.

  
  
  


Jack had meant to stop by, or at least call the bakery. To thank Gabe again for the cake- Lena had loved it, along with the whole surprise party he’d asked the girls on her track team to plan for her- or just to stop by. The other pastries smelled delicious both times he’d been in there, and the couple times Amari brought some in for her breakfast, they looked great too.

 

She’d been the one to recommend the bakery to him when he mentioned needing a cake on short notice, and she spoke highly of everything they had there.

 

But work had gotten busy faster than he’d expected- there was a lot more to do at the Veterans’ Association here in Los Angeles than there was back in Chicago, and a whole different set of protocols to learn, and he’d just lost track of time. 

 

This weekend was the first one in a few weeks were Lena didn’t have a meet- maybe he could see if she wanted to stop by with him, so they could both try the pastries. And maybe he wouldn’t feel so awkward talking to the beautiful, cheery man who always seemed to leave him speechless.

 

“Hey, Morrison, can I talk to you for a second?”

 

The voice cut into his thoughts as he filed another report into his cabinet, turning around at his desk to see Amari standing in the doorway. There was a little smile on her face, but it wasn’t her usual sly one, something more apologetic this time.

 

Gesturing for her to come in and sit, he nodded, “Yeah, of course. Is something wrong?”

 

She sat, shrugging, “Not exactly wrong. Just… a little inconvenient. You know how next weekend is the Navy and Marines reserve training weekend?”

 

He nodded, it was one of the things he helped to plan as a liaison between the VA and the active military and reserves. 

 

“One of our officers got into a car accident last week, and won’t be able to oversee the operation. Normally I’d step in myself but… It’s Fareeha’s soccer tournament and I promised I’d be there for her because her father isn’t going to be able to come down for it. So, I was hoping, if it wasn’t too much trouble-”

 

“Of course I’ll do it,” Jack cut in before she could even finish, a smile on his face, “I know how important it is, getting to see those sorts of things. Lena doesn’t have a meet or anything, so I’m sure she’ll be fine staying home or with a friend for the weekend.”

 

Relief washed over Ana’s face and she smiled brighter now, “Thank you, Jack. I owe you one. And you know if Lena wants to come along, she’s more than welcome to join us. She’s the most enthusiastic cheerleader anyone’s ever seen.”

 

“I’ll let her know- she might want to if her friends don’t have any plans. If she does, would you mind picking her up? Since I’ll have to head out to base pretty early.”

 

“Of course, that’s not a problem, Jack. And… thank you again. It means a lot.”

 

Jack smiled, warm and caring, and waved her thanks off. “Don’t even mention it. I’m happy to take over for you.”

 

A little more small talk and Ana headed out of the office- she had her own paperwork to sort through at the end of the day, after all. And once the door closed behind her, Jack took out his phone to text Lena, letting her know in advance so she could make whatever plans she needed.

 

He’d have to find some other time to stop by the bakery and see how Gabe was doing.

  
  


“You sure you’ll be alright handling the shop? You know you can close up if you’ve got stuff to do- we’re over on our numbers for the month anyway. We’ll be okay to be closed,” Gabe shouldered his bag, looking back at Sombra and Jesse with concern.

 

“Dad. We really gotta go over this  _ every time?  _ We can handle the shop for a couple days while you go do your military shit. And if something does come up and we need to close, we will. But we’ll be fine. Yer just worryin’ over nothin’. Like  _ always.”  _

 

“Yeah. We’ll be fine. I won’t let Jesse touch the computers and I won’t touch the ovens. And we’ve got leftovers to eat at home. Everything will be fine when you come home. Promise.”

 

Jesse looked ready to make a quip, but he stopped himself- the last thing they needed was a little argument to see Gabe off. 

 

Sighing, he looked between them and then stepped forward, pulling them both into a tight hug. They returned the hug, patting his back.

 

“I’ll miss you both. I know you’ll do fine. Just… call me if anything goes wrong, okay? I’ll ditch reserves if I have to.”

 

“Ain’t that illegal, or somethin’?” Jesse grinned, clearly teasing his father, and prompting Gabe to yank off his hat and ruffle his hair. “Ey-!”

 

“Let me worry about the legality. Or, better yet, don’t get into enough trouble to warrant me having to sneak back here,” He reshouldered his bag, putting up a hand in a wave, “Te quiero. I’ll see you both Sunday night.”

 

“Te quiero, Papa!”   
“Yeah, yeah. Te quiero. Miss you.”

 

With that, Gabe headed out of the house, hopping onto his bike and speeding off. It was early- the rest of LA wasn’t quite awake yet, and that meant he could get away with a little more speed and ducking around cars to get to the base on time.

 

He arrived at base with about half an hour to spare, finding a parking spot for his motorcycle and heading in, bag slung over his shoulder. Walking over to the desk, he checked in with a tired smile on his face.

 

“Sergeant Gabriel Reyes, reporting for duty.”

 

The receptionist smiled at him- he admired how everyone on the base seemed so happy and peppy this early in the morning, but he supposed that was just how everything worked around here. Not that he remembered ever being like that himself.

 

“Good morning, Sergeant Reyes. You’ll be working with Commander Morrison today- Commander Lacroix is in recovery and could not join us. Report to the Commander at 0730 at the obstacle course.”

 

A concerned frown crossed his face but he thought better of asking- he’d call O’Ryan once he was off duty and check in. Saluting, he took his itinerary and tucked it into his bag.

 

“Aye aye. Have a nice day, ma’am.”

 

Turning away from the desk, he caught sight of a couple of his old squad mates and waved, half-jogging over to them to give them quick hugs.

 

“Man, long time no see, Reyes!”   
“Yeah, you never come out bar hopping with us anymore!”   
“Don’t you ever check your FaceBook? We message you every time.”

 

He laughed, hugging them all in turn, “Sorry. Running the bakery keeps me busy. Not that any of  _ you  _ would know, considering you shitheads never come in to see me either.”

 

The comment was made with clear affection and soon all four were laughing, exchanging promises to really hang out soon. Gabe checked his watch, waving a quick goodbye.

 

“I gotta head out to the obstacle course- Lacroix’s out sick this weekend so I’m gonna go meet our temp CO. Wish me luck, boys.”

 

A chorus of hoots and hollers followed Gabe out as he started the short march across base to the obstacle course.

  
  


Training days at the reserves were always interesting, very different from the new recruits who were being trained across the base. Every soldier here had seen battle in some way, had been deployed at some point. And for the most part, they all knew each other, at least a little bit.

 

Jack watched from the observation deck as people arrived, shaking hands and pulling friends into hugs before heading off to claim bunks in the barrack hallways leading off the main room. It was like a reunion- getting to see all of your old squad mates again. 

 

And he was new here, an outsider. And he didn’t want to end their camaraderie early. They had fifteen minutes or so to keep settling in before drills began.

 

A little knock interrupted his people watching, a messenger saluting him and walking in, holding out a file, “Commander Morrison, this is your roll list and itinerary for today. If you have any questions, please contact the General before 0800 hours. You’ll be starting out on the obstacle course.”

 

Taking the file, Jack flashed the young man a smile- he was too young to be an actual recruit or soldier, probably an army brat who’d applied for a civilian job on base to be close to his family, “Thanks. I’ll head over in a moment.”

 

Another exchanged salute and the messenger was on his way, presumably to deliver the rest of the commanding officers their information as well.

 

Looking back over the main room one last time, Jack grabbed his pack before heading out of the office and locking it behind him, heading out to face the first activities of the day.

  
  


Gabe had been on the reserve training base often enough to navigate it blindfolded if he needed to- not that he’d ever try. Last thing he wanted was any of his squadmates making fun of him for running around blind. He had to be a role model, after all. 

 

And part of that role model and leadership role was meeting up with the officer before the rest of his enlisted men had to- to test the waters with the new commander. Every officer saw the enlisted men differently, after all.

 

Knocking on the door of the obstacle course command center, Gabe waited a moment before entering, immediately standing at attention and giving a sharp salute, “Staff Sergeant Gabriel Reyes, 7th Reserve Platoon, at your service Commander.”

 

“At ease, Sergeant,” The dismissal came with a little chuckle, the Commander turning from where he had been looking out the window and flashing a smile, “I thought I recognized that name on my list- should have put two and two together earlier, I’d have offered to carpool.”

 

Letting his posture fall from attention to rest, Gabe let out a laugh of his own, stepping further into the room and offering a hand to Jack, “Don’t sweat it- I’m not the only Gabriel Reyes in LA. And it’s not like I spend a lot of time talking about the military.”

 

Jack took his hand and shook it, quick and firm, before turning back to the window and gesturing for Gabe to join him. Gabe took the last few steps into the room, looking over the obstacle course- nothing looked too new. Maybe a change in order, but nothing his boys couldn’t handle once they got started.

 

After a beat of silence, Gabe cleared his throat, polite but curious, “If it’s a private matter, you don’t have to tell me, Sir. But what happened to Commander Lacroix?”

 

“He was in a car accident and is recovering- he wishes he could be here but the doctors insist he remain in the hospital for at least another week, and then stay home for a while after that,” The information was given matter-of-fact, but then Jack turned to him with a smile, “He’ll be alright. You won’t have to deal with a stranger as your Commander next time around.”

 

“Don’t think you count as a stranger, Sir. And I wasn’t complaining about having you as our Commander. Just worrying. Lacroix’s a friend- usually he gets in touch when something’s amiss and… he hadn’t lately.”

 

“Captain Amari informed me that he only recently woke up and was well enough to see visitors- I’m sure he’ll be in touch soon. And I’ll pass along your worries if I can.”

 

“Thank you, Commander Morrison.”

 

They lapsed into silence again, watching as the soldiers gathered on the obstacle course, meals finished and beds claimed. Once there were a fair number, Gabe stood up into a salute again, giving the Commander a quick smile.

 

“Permission to group up with my men, Commander?”

 

“Granted. I’ll follow you out- we’ve got a busy day ahead of us, haven’t we?”

 

“That we do. If we finish the track early enough, you should give it a try, Commander. I know they don’t let the officers do much for these training weekends.”

 

Gabe laughed, saluting again on his way out as he closed the door behind him and jogged off to meet his squad. Patting them on the backs as he passed them and got them into formation, he told them all about Commander Lacroix’s accident.

 

“So once he’s out of ICU we’re gonna go see him, right?”

 

“Yeah. I’m gonna try calling him once I get home. See if I can bribe him and Amelie to let us in if I bake some of those fancy French pastries they like so much.”

 

“Oh,  _ definitely, _ Reyes. Didn’t go to culinary school on the army’s dime for nothing, did ya?”

 

A chorus of laughter echoed from that, Gabe joining in with a shake of his head. It quieted, though, when Morrison stepped out of the command center and blew his whistle, once to form up the soldiers, and again to signal the start.

 

“Alright boys. Let’s show the new Commander just what we can do.”

  
  


Despite the change of command, the day went smoothly. Gabe had to hand it to Morrison- the man knew how to quickly gain trust and respect. It came along with how nice he was to everyone, even when he was giving orders or looking over them all sternly. It was hard not to listen to and respect a Commander who genuinely seemed to care even about new soldiers.

 

Sitting amidst his squad in the mess hall, Gabe ate the food with relish- it was much better here than it had been during his bootcamp or his time served overseas. They wanted the reserve soldiers to keep coming back even after their required period was up, probably. But he wasn’t going to complain.

 

While he wasn’t saying much, he was grateful for the chance to sit and listen. He really wasn’t the best at getting onto social media, and only tended to check in every couple of weeks or so via phone with his squad. So he lived for the monthly chance to listen to them all talk about their lives- it was wonderful to know that they were all thriving.

 

Or surviving, at least.

 

There were a couple of soldiers Gabe was worried about, a few who looked a little lost and a little thinner every time they came to base. He resolved to check in with them personally before everyone left on Sunday, and maybe try and swing by and visit more often. He knew first hand how hard it could be to reintegrate into civilian life after time at war, after all.

 

“Sergeant Reyes, do you have a moment? I wanted to give you your evaluations before lights out.”

 

The voice from behind him caused him to start- he’d been too involved in the conversations and his own concerns to hear the boots coming up behind him. Turning to look up, he made eye contact with the Commander and smiled, nodding.

 

“Yeah. Of course. Let me return my tray and then we can walk?”

 

Jack nodded and stepped back to let Gabe stand, following him to the trash cans and then out the door, falling into step beside him and holding out a folder of evaluations, forms for Gabe to look over and then sign.

 

“Sorry for interrupting your dinner- I just figured it was best to get these handed off to you so you could spend the free time afterwards with your squad.”

 

Waving off the apology, Gabe put the folder under his arm, “Don’t apologize- I appreciate your forethought, Commander. It’ll be nice to just hang out with the guys once I’m done signing these and giving them out,” He looked up at Jack, eyebrow raised, “Was there anything else you wanted to ask me? Or did you just want to give me these away from the others?”

 

Jack smiled, chuckling a bit, “Mostly just that. I felt odd handing you their evaluations where all of them could see. I’d rather you have time to read them over before returning them,” He paused, clearly thinking for a moment before continuing, “But I also wanted to thank you. For how easy you made this- I can see that your men trust you implicitly, and… you could have given me a lot more shit as a new CO. So I appreciate that.”

 

The admission had Gabe bursting out laughing before he could cover his mouth and catch himself, “Sorry, sorry. Didn’t mean to laugh at you, Sir. Just. Are you thanking me for not being an asshole?”

 

“We’re technically off the clock- you can call me Jack. And… well. When you put it that way I guess it does sound kind of silly but. Yes, I guess,” Jack laughed too, running a hand through his hair and shrugging his shoulders.

 

“Well. You’re welcome, I guess. But you should give yourself some credit too, Jack. Yeah, my men take after me, but you won their respect on your own. You’re a good Commander, I can tell just from training. I bet you did well in the field too.”

 

It was impossible to miss the flush that colored Jack’s cheeks at the compliment, though the Commander was quick to hide it, turning away and running a hand through his hair and over his face for a moment, “Thanks, Reyes. That means a lot.”

 

“We’re off duty, right? You can still call me Gabe here- unless you just really like my last name.”

 

“Right. Gabe. Still. Thanks.”

 

“Don’t mention it, Jack,” Gabe flashed a bright smile, tapping the folder against his chest, “Well. I should probably get to reading these so I can give my men their reports. You need anything else from me?”

 

Jack shook his head, putting a hand up in a half-salute, “Nah. Dismissed. I’ll see you at the meetings tomorrow, right?”

 

“Yeah, I’ll be there. I stay for everything, usually. Unless something goes wrong back home,” He turned with a wave, starting off before stopping and looking back at Jack, “You should stop by the bakery again sometime. If you ever happen to be in the area.”

 

“Oh! Oh. Yeah. Definitely. I’d love to- I definitely will sometime. I’ll see you around.”

 

“See you around, Jack.”

  
  


Jack left the base feeling a little discouraged- he hadn’t gotten a chance to speak to Gabe again that day. The meetings filled most of the day, and what free time they’d been given, Jack had seen Gabe across the way, clearly engrossed in discussion with a couple of his squad mates. He’d already interrupted them for actual business before- he didn’t want to do it again for no reason this time.

 

No reason other than wanting to talk to Gabe, anyway.

 

Any hope he might have had that spending the weekend with Gabe at the base, working and watching the man work in a different context, would help his crush dissipate was gone. If anything, it was worse now, because now all he could think about was how bright and fierce Gabe’s smile got when he was pushing through a difficult obstacle or set of reps, and how his laugh rang out when he heard a joke, and how concern instantly overtook his expression when anyone showed any sign of being hurt.

 

God, he was head over heels, and he barely knew the man.

 

Sighing, he opened the door to the house, turning all the lights on. He’d gotten a text from Ana- the girls were on their way back from Fareeha’s tournament and likely wouldn’t be home for another hour or so. Which gave him an hour to sit with a cup of coffee and try to push the lingering butterflies in his stomach away.

 

Time flew while he was trying and failing to focus on reading the newspaper, looking over at his folder of documents from the training meetings every few minutes instead. Before he knew it, there was the sound of a key in the lock and Lena bounding through the door.

 

“Dad! Dad, dad, dad! Guess what! Fareeha won! Her team got first place, but she got her own trophy too! The refs gave it to her.”

 

Getting up from his chair with a little laugh, he came into the hallway to see Lena beaming, Fareeha standing a little bit behind her, trying to shush her by shoving at her shoulder..

 

“I just got it for working hard, Lena. Shh. Hello, Commander.”

 

“You know you can call me Jack, right? I’m not your commanding officer, and I’m not at work. I’m just your mother’s friend, Reeha. Congratulations on your tournament- were you named the MVP then?”

 

“Yeah! She did amazing- she scored like 6 goals all by herself!”

 

“Lena, I had help. Stop bragging for me.” 

 

Jack laughed again, reaching over to ruffle Fareeha’s hair, much to the teenager’s dismay, “Good job, kiddo. I bet your mom’s real proud. I don’t wanna keep you too long on a school night, though- bet Ana’s waiting in the car, right?”

 

“Yeah. I think Mom wants to be asleep yesterday.”

 

“Go on, then. I’ll hear all about your tournament from Lena, and again from your mom tomorrow, I’m sure. Be safe!”

 

Fareeha threw up a mock salute, smiling, “Aye, aye, Commander Morrison. I’ll see you around. See you at school, Lena?”

 

“Maybe. If you can catch me!”

 

One last wave and Fareeha was out of the house, Lena already launching into the story of her tournament as Jack took her weekend bag and tossed the clothes into the laundry before he made a pot of tea for the both of them. 

 

And finally, he had something else to really focus on besides how beautiful Gabriel’s smile had been when he agreed to stop by the bakery sometime.

  
  


Naturally, just wanting to stop by the bakery and having an invitation to do so didn’t mean Jack suddenly found the time or opportunity. He was always heading into work early or staying late, and taking Lena to meets or to her friend’s houses on the weekends- busy didn’t even seem to cover how he felt.

 

It was a couple of weeks before he got the chance to come back- Lena was away for the weekend at camp, something one of her clubs at school had arranged, and he managed to convince himself to abandon his extra paperwork for the evening. 

 

Stepping into the little bakery, Jack actually took his time and looked around, taking in all the little details- the rose vines painted up the walls, the portrait of La Virgen by the counter, the racks of colorful candies in the center of the room, the certificates that Jack couldn’t quite read from this distance but he could guess at: A diploma, passed inspections, things like that. 

 

He was so focused on taking in the atmosphere of the bakery that he didn’t notice Jesse coming in from the back until a whistle sounded behind him, causing him to jump backwards and bump into a rack of chips.

 

“Oh! God! Sorry. Shit. Let me grab all of that.”

 

Jesse laughed, walking over with the tray of conchas and setting them in the pastry case, “Nah- my dad pays me to clean up after clumsy people running through here. Granted, it’s usually kids. But ya know.”

 

Embarrassed, Jack took a step back to let Jesse rearrange the shelves, running a hand through his hair and trying to collect himself. He looked around the shop again before clearing his throat to speak.

 

“Right. Your dad… Is he not working today?”

 

“Oh, he’s always working- he’s just out on a delivery. The youth center down the street is havin’ a celebration tonight and he baked a couple cakes for it. Said he’d be back around seven or somethin’, in time to close up and prep tomorrow’s pastries.”

 

Jack tried his best to hide the disappointment on his face- he didn’t need Gabe’s son knowing how much he’d hoped to see Gabe today. Sighing, he tossed up a quick smile to cover the expression, looking at the pastries.

 

“That’s nice- must be a good sale. Sorry you have to run the place by yourself in the meantime, though. Must get difficult.”

 

“Eh. It’s not that busy a time. Just means if things run out, they’re out- I can’t make  _ pan _ like Pa does.”

 

Slowly, hypervigilant so as to not bump into anything again, Jack grabbed a tray and started setting pastries on it to buy, “Well then, I’d better grab what I want while it’s still here.”

 

“Yea. I’ll ring you up at the front when you’re ready, Jack.”

 

“Thanks, kid. Sorry again for… running into stuff.”

 

Jesse was already walking away back to the front of the store but he laughed at that, turning to give Jack a look, “Don’t sweat it. Means I get a story to tell over dinner tonight.”

 

There was that embarrassment again, stronger now knowing that somewhere down the line, Gabe would hear about the whole encounter. Jack tried to swallow it all down, placing several more pastries on his tray and bringing it up to the front to pay.

 

Jesse rang him out with that same smug smile on his face- Jack almost wondered if it was a family trait- and it took Jack a moment to speak as he handed the money over and took the bag of pastries, “Uh. Keep the change and… could you tell your father I stopped by? I promised I would back when we were at training and couldn’t find time til now…”

 

The young man rolled his eyes and chuckled but nodded nonetheless, “Yeah, yeah, sure. I’ll let him know you came through. Want me to tell him anything else, while I’m playing messenger?”

 

“Uh. No. That’s… that’s fine. Just. Don’t want him thinking I’m avoiding him or something.”

 

“You got it, I’ll let the boss man know. See ya, Jack.”

 

Jack raised a hand in a quick wave goodbye as he headed out of the shop, holding the bag of pastries against his chest. Once he was safely out of sight and earshot of the bakery, he leant up against a wall and sighed.

 

“Get yourself together Morrison. You’re acting like some kind of kid.”

  
  


Jack had to admit, Gabe really had a talent for all sorts of baking. The cake had been fantastic, and the two kinds of  _ pan  _ he’d eaten out of his bag this evening matched in quality. It was no wonder the bakery seemed to be the talk of the neighborhood every time he walked down the street.

 

Well, that and perhaps the fact that the man who ran it was undeniably kind and beautiful.

 

He sighed and pushed that thought out of the head- it had been creeping in more and more often lately, and he couldn’t work around it. He’d hoped that seeing Gabe tonight and having a chance to maybe talk to him, ask if he had some time free to really get to know each other, would quiet his thoughts and the butterflies that had taken nest in his chest, but fate was against him again.

 

Grabbing the paper, he began scanning through for any of the articles he hadn’t read yet- things that hadn’t seemed pertinent or interesting this morning but could serve to draw his attention for the remainder of the night. He was about halfway through a think piece on the new fountain system in the local park when his phone went off from where it was charging.

 

Jack got up, walking over and unlocking it to find a couple of texts- not from Lena, as he’d expected, but from an unknown number.

 

[txt from: Unknown] Hey, it’s Gabe. I stole your number off the order sheet from the cake. You know. Like a normal person.   
[txt from: Unknown] Jesse told me you stopped by- sorry I wasn’t there to catch you.   
[txt from: Unknown] Hope there wasn’t something important you needed me for?

 

He couldn’t help but laugh at the series of texts- and at least the laughter helped relieve a bit of the tension in his chest that came with  _ Gabe  _ texting him.

 

[txt to: Gabe] I mean, I did give it to you. At least you didn’t look me up in the phone book or something.   
[txt to: Gabe] Nah. I just wanted to come by. Maybe say hi if you were there.   
[txt to: Gabe] Your cookies are fantastic though. Just so you know.

 

[txt from: Gabe] I don’t own a phonebook. It’s not 2005.   
[txt from: Gabe] Jajajaja. Thanks.    
[txt from: Gabe] They’re best first thing in the morning, right out of the oven.

 

[txt to: Gabe] Rude? My new house came with one.   
[txt to: Gabe] Maybe I’ll try and catch those sometime- if I can come in before work.

 

[txt from: Gabe] Let me know when and I’ll try and keep one warm for you.   
[txt from: Gabe] Hide it in a warming oven or somethin.

 

[txt to: Gabe] Oh. Wow. Thanks. Yeah. I’ll… I’ll definitely do that.

 

He set his phone down and took a deep breath, trying to steel himself and find the right words. It took a moment, a weird five minute break between texts.

 

[txt to: Gabe] Actually I. I stopped by to ask if you were free anytime this weekend.    
[txt to: Gabe] And if you wanted to get coffee sometime?

 

Still feeling like some sort of teenager, Jack set his phone down and grabbed a glass from the cabinet, filling it with water and taking a sip to try and clear the itch in his throat. From beside him, his phone buzzed another couple times, but he resisted the urge to open them immediately.

 

Best to take a moment and prepare himself first.

 

Jack finished his glass of water and set it in the sink before walking back over to his phone, unlocking it and opening the texts.

 

[txt from: Gabe] Oh?   
[txt from: Gabe] Shop’s closed on Sundays, if you’re not busy then.    
[txt from: Gabe] Maybe in the afternoon? After I’ve prepped everything for Monday morning?

 

Surprised and filled with something close to relief laced with excitement, Jack replied quickly. He was grateful for autocorrect, fast fingers skipping letters left and right.

 

[txt to: Gabe] Yeah! Yeah that works.   
[txt to: Gabe] Where do you wanna meet?

 

[txt from: Gabe] I’ll be in the shop if you just wanna head there? And then we could walk somewhere from there?

 

[txt to: Gabe] Sounds great. I’ll see you Sunday afternoon then. Around 4?

 

[txt from Gabe] 4 works. See ya then, Jack. Maybe I’ll bake a couple cookies for you. (;

 

Jack set his phone down and leant up against the counter with a sigh, eyes closed. When he opened them a second later, he caught sight of his reflection in the dark glass of the window, grinning so wide his teeth were showing.

 

Maybe things were going to work out smoothly after all.

  
  


Days when the shop was closed were an odd mix of busy and dead. There weren’t any customers to help, and nothing to check on in the ovens, but there was still work to be done. Gabe generally used Sundays for any maintenance projects- fixing lights, tightening the screws on shelves, things like that- as well as checking all of the books and prepping certain kinds of dough for the week to come.

 

Normally, he just got everything done and then headed home to rest for the remainder of the day, but today was a little more erratic, a little more scatterbrained. Any time there was a lull in work- when he was waiting for the dishwasher to run, or taking a break in between days of bookkeeping- his mind wandered to the fact that Jack was coming by today. 

 

And more specifically, that Jack was coming by and they were going out for coffee. 

 

Dating wasn’t really something Gabe had had time for these past few years- finishing culinary school and opening up the bakery along with raising a couple of kids in high school and middle school didn’t exactly leave him with an open schedule. 

 

He’d seen people here and there- mostly quick flings, or dates that some of the local old ladies down at the coffee shop set him up on- but nothing with anyone he knew, or anything he meant to last very long.

 

And now he was going out for coffee with someone who, reasonably, was going to be in his life a lot more often whether this worked out or not. Gabe worked with the VA as a sponsor and if Jack was going to be filling in for Gerard more often, he’d be seeing him at the training weekends too.

 

It was more than a little nerve-wracking, to say the least.

 

At least he could get the nerves out by kneading dough- he would set it out to rise and mature overnight before coming in tomorrow to bake them before opening. And so long as he was working, he wasn’t thinking about ways this afternoon might go wrong.

 

Once he was well into his usual routine of mixing, kneading, and laying out dough, his mind finally quieted down. The worries over his date today melted away, same as the usual tensions of the week, pressed down into the dough. 

 

He had just placed another tray onto the rising racks when there was a knocking from the shop, knuckles rapping against the glass of the door. Freezing in place, took a couple of breaths before running a hand through his hair and checking his reflection in the little mirror by the desk.

 

Flour streaked through his hair was a good look, right? Salt and pepper or something. Not something he could fix, at any rate.

 

Taking his apron off and tossing it onto a hook in the back room, Gabe made his way through the shop front and opened the door, ushering Jack in.

 

“Hey- thanks for meeting here. Makes my life a lot easier. How’s your Sunday been?”

 

Jack flashed him a smile as he closed the door behind him with one hand, other hand holding out a bouquet of flowers. Reaching out to take the flowers, Gabe returned the smile with a mutter of thanks.

 

“Pretty good- relaxing. I read the paper. I’m boring like that.”

 

Gabe let out a laugh as he looked around for something to put the flowers in, finally deciding on the currently empty tip jar- that way they could stay fresh until he got back from their little coffee date.

 

“That’s not boring- keeps you caught up with everything, right? I get most of my news on my phone or through Jesse or Sombra, but I get wanting to actually read the paper. Old fashioned charm or something.”

 

Flowers safely placed in their jar-turned-makeshift-vase, Gabe turned back to Jack with a bright smile, looking him over again. Jack’s hair was a bit of a mess- in a way that made Gabe wonder if it wasn’t at least a little intentional- and he was dressed a little nicer than the couple other times he’d come by the shop- a casual sort of button down and chinos rather than the muscle tees and jeans.

 

He looked fantastic, and Gabe had to forcefully blink to stop himself from staring and refocus on the conversation.

 

“...Lena tells me I should just pay for the online paper-it’s cheaper- but reading on my phone or computer gives me headaches- my glasses aren’t really made for it.”

 

Chuckling softly to cover up any missed conversation, Gabe offered Jack an arm, heading back for the door, “I think the extra few cents an issue is worth saving yourself the headaches. Shall we?”

 

There was a flash of something- surprise, maybe?- across Jack’s face before he took Gabe’s arm and Gabe led him out of the shop, locking the door behind him. 

 

“Don’t suppose you know of a good coffee shop nearby, huh, Gabe?”

 

“You’ll have to tell me how the coffee is, but there’s a nice little cafe a couple blocks down, and I’d swear by their cocoa.”

 

“Sounds perfect,” The statement came followed by that sunshine-bright grin again and Gabe couldn’t help but return it, stomach twisted into a bit of a knot. 

 

It was a wild sensation, feeling fifteen again.

  
  
  


Jack was aware he had a habit of talking too much when he was nervous- it was something he’d done since he was a kid, and no matter how hard he tried to break it, he never seemed to be able to stop.

And he was more than aware of it now as he chattered almost mindlessly as they walked to the coffee shop and sat down, jumping from topic to topic seamlessly to fill the silence. Silence that Gabe seemed much better at providing- the other man smiling and asking questions, but not saying nearly as much.

 

God, he hoped he wasn’t annoying him. He felt like a kid at a carnival, too excited and anxious all at once.

 

But at least they had topics to agree on- one of the first things Gabe really opened up to talking about was his kids. Jesse and Olivia- who insisted on going by Sombra- were older than Lena, Jesse in community college and Sombra getting ready to finish up high school a year ahead of schedule. But they had a lot of the same mischief, from the couple of stories Gabe had told him.

 

And it was obvious they meant the world to Gabe.

 

Gabe was already beautiful- Jack had been breathless seeing him the first day in the shop, covered in flour and a little tired out- but the light that brightened his eyes when he talked about his kids made Jack’s heart stop in his chest. Jack wasn’t sure he’d ever seen a person who radiated so much light- in real life or on TV.

 

The fact that Gabe had even agreed to get coffee with him surprised him beyond belief.

 

“Hey, earth to Jack? Anybody alive up there?”

 

Jack started with a little jump, coming out of his moondazing and realizing he’d missed whatever Gabe had said last- and his coffee arriving. A bright red flush coloured his face from the tips of his ears down his neck and he looked down, running a hand through his hair.

 

“Yeah. Sorry. I uh. I. Got lost in my head, is all.”

 

Gabe’s soft caramel laugh fell on his ears and Jack couldn’t help but relax a little- that laugh was quickly becoming one of his favourite sounds, even if it was at his expense this time. 

 

“So long as you’re not blacking out or something- I was worried I’d bored you out of your body or something.”

 

“No! No. Not at all. I. I love hearing you talk about your kids and the bakery. I just… The sun hit your eyes particularly nicely and I got lost in them and forgot we were having a conversation because you’re really gorgeous and- Oh.” The sentence came out all at once, too fast, and before Jack even realized he was saying it. By the time he caught it it was already out of his mouth and he was flushing beat red again, hiding his face in his hands with a loud sigh. “I’m sorry.”

 

There was a pause, quiet enough for Jack to hear his heart pounding in his ears out of embarrassment, before Gabe gave a soft little chuckle and there was a warm hand touching Jack’s, trying to coax it away from his face.

 

“Why are you sorry? There’s nothing to be sorry for, Jackie.”

 

Slowly, Jack lowered his hands and looked up at Gabe through his eyelashes, shrugging his shoulders nervously, “Because I blurted out that I was so distracted by how pretty you are that I straight up stopped listening to you? That’s. Embarrassing. And probably a little rude.”

 

Gabe’s fingers threaded through his, holding his hand on top of the table as Gabe leant in to look him in the eye, a smile on his face.

 

“It’s not embarrassing  _ or  _ rude. I thought it was sweet… Beautiful isn’t usually what people think when they see a man with shrapnel scars across his face and flour streaked through his hair. I… I’m flattered that you think I’m beautiful, Jackie.”

 

There was a flash of something almost like anger in Jack’s stomach at Gabe’s words- they sounded like the laments of someone who had been told exactly the opposite. All because of the scars on his face? Suddenly impassioned, embarrassment forgotten, he reached up with his other hand and lightly touched Gabe’s face, fingers tracing across the scars and then back into Gabe’s hair.

 

“Then most people must be blind. You’re gorgeous… The scars don’t take away from that at all- they just mean you lived through something terrible and came out better for it.”

 

It was Gabe’s turn to flush, and while the colour wasn’t quite so visible against his skin, the heat under Jack’s fingers was noticeable, as was the warmth that leaked into Gabe’s eyes before he broke eye contact to look down.

 

“Mm. Thank you, Jack. You’re too kind.”

 

“On the contrary-I’m not nearly as kind as you deserve. But I intend on trying to be.”

 

Gabe looked up at that, laughing and squeezing Jack’s hand, “You are. And you’re not giving yourself enough credit for it.”

 

Jack bit his lip, sorely tempted to lean in and kiss Gabe but unsure if this was too soon, and if Gabe would be put off by it. He was certain the concern flashed across his face for a moment, replacing his embarrassed smile, and he opened his mouth, both to explain and to ask permission.

 

But before he could get a word in edgewise, Gabe’s lips were pressed to his. Quick, soft, warm, a little dry. It was a short kiss, but a kiss nonetheless, and it left him speechless, staring over at Gabe.

 

“Shit. Sorry. I. I should have asked first but. You looked really cute and I’m still kind of floating on the whole beautiful thing and-”

 

Jack let out a little laugh, cupping Gabe’s face in his hand and pulling him in for another kiss, longer this time, but just as sweet.

 

“Don’t apologize- you read my mind. That was exactly what I wanted.”

 

He laughed again, softly, and couldn’t help but smile wider when he heard Gabe’s laugh mixing in with his. There was a warm feeling in his chest, full and bright, like all of the butterflies that had made their home in his stomach had turned to fireflies and traveled upward.

 

Another couple of quick kisses and the table between them got troublesome, pressing into his ribcage and reminding him with a clinking of glasses that they should probably finish their drinks and leave rather than keep exchanging kisses across the table.

 

Sitting back, he picked up his coffee and took a sip, humming happily at the flavor. Gabe followed his example, taking a sip of his hot chocolate. The little smirk on his face had a shiver running down Jack’s spine that he just kept drinking his coffee to repress.

 

The same playful undercurrent remained as they finished their drinks and headed out. Gabe grabbed him his coat and handed it to him, before wrapping an arm around his waist. Jack let his arm fall around Gabe’s shoulders in return, nudging his head against Gabe’s.

 

They walked the rest of the way back to Jack’s car in companionable silence, that warmth in Jack’s chest settling comfortably in his stomach. When they got to his car he turned, wrapping both of his arms around Gabe’s waist and leaning up against the door of his car to pull him closer.

 

“Hey uh. Would you like to do this again sometime? Maybe dinner? Or something?”

 

“I’d be honored to take you out again sometime, Jackie.”

 

Gabe leant up at that, kissing Jack up against his car. This kiss was longer, Jack’s mouth slipping open in invitation. His hands slid up Gabe’s back to help hold Gabe up, braced as he was against the car. 

 

Kiss after kiss left Jack breathless and half-melted against his car, and when Gabe finally pulled back, Jack grinned up at him, open mouthed and goofy. One hand came all the way up Gabe’s spine to nestle into his hair, pulling him close to rest their foreheads together.

 

“I’m looking forward to it… I’ll see you soon?”

 

With one last kiss, Gabe pulled away, grinning, “I’ll see you soon, Jackie.”

  
  
  


Work resumed as normal Monday morning, though Jack was certain he walked in with a spring in his step. He whistled as he walked, grabbing a cup of coffee and a bagel in the office before heading to his office. Ana stopped him just before the door, smirking.

 

“Hey, Morrison. Someone came by with a delivery for you- I left it in your office.”

 

“Oh? Weird. I wasn’t expecting anything…”

 

She shrugged and walked off, leaving him to unlock the door and walk in. Turning the lights on, he caught sight of the little white box on his desk.

 

Surprised, Jack walked over to it, and when he saw the sticker sealing the box shut, he smiled.

 

_ Jackie, _ __  
_    I forgot to make you those cookies. Thought I’d make up for it. _ __  
_ xoxo _ _  
_ __ Gabe

 

He opened the box, gasping softly when he saw the little cake inside. It was much smaller than the one he’d bought for Lena, but no less artfully designed, flowers down the sides and blossoming around the text.

 

_ Dinner at 7 this Friday?  _

 

Jack let out a little chuckle, sitting down at his desk and closing the box up- he’d eat it once lunch came around. He took out his phone, scrolling through to Gabe’s number.

 

[txt to: Gabe] I’ll see you Friday, Gabe.   
[txt to: Gabe] Thanks for the cake. :*

 

Bright and warm, he settled back into his chair and got to work.

 

Moving hadn’t turned out so badly after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please give your support to these wonderful artists who brought scenes from my fic to life!
> 
> http://rag--tag.tumblr.com/post/176769364317/you-guys-have-no-idea-how-excited-ive-been-to
> 
> http://rottingdonut.tumblr.com/post/176765015861/here-is-the-finished-r76bigbang-piece-for
> 
> find me on tumblr: ilananight.tumblr.com
> 
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